Would you connect your faith with mine as we trust the Holy
Spirit to help us? Lord, we do pray humbly before
you. We thank you for this building
for this room, for the people that are here, filling this
place. Well, we look to you as the
Living God. There is no doubt in us.
That you are the real God. The true God.
The only God but we believe that what we have in our hands is
your word, but we also understand that this word apart
from the spirit will not move us.
Will not change us and so we ask that the holy spirit's help his
power. The same holy spirit that
anointed the sun while he was on Earth.
We pray for that anointing to be known in this place.
And so Lord, we confess our weakness and our dependency on
you. We know that what will make this
time effective is not eloquence nor will it be any personality?
It will be the power of the holy spirit.
So we confess that and we trust that he will meet us here.
May the Son of God be glorified in our midst and Jesus name we
pray. Amen.
Mark 426. And he said, the kingdom of God
is, as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, he sleeps
and Rises night and day and the seed sprouts and grows.
He knows not how the Earth produces by itself.
First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
But when the grain is ripe at once he puts in the sickle
because the Harvest has come You can imagine the range of
emotions that disciples felt up to this point of hearing, their
Messiah, the Messiah, explain after one Parable following the
next principles and foundational truths concerning the kingdom of
God. The kingdom that was prophesied
about the kingdom that was long-awaited, the kingdom that
would establish a people and Redemption for the world.
Here they are as these pupils. Soaking in everything that their
teacher is saying. And again, it makes you wonder
what they felt. Surely.
There was excitement, surely there was curiosity and perhaps
there was even uncertainty because as Jesus is teaching,
it's not far-fetched to imagine that.
These disciples are perhaps feeling concern concern that
could be one growing thought because With this Revelation is
coming. The realization of the great
responsibility, that is being placed upon their shoulders
here. They are being prepared.
After being selected to launch out into the world.
With a truth with the aim of saving.
Souls of seeing people, converted of seeing people who
also be included in this Kingdom.
I mean, imagine being a pioneer of a movement that has been
planned from eternity past. Imagine being one of the
founders. So to speak of this message,
going forth, that will recruit and win people the masses to
Salvation. These disciples perhaps sought
to themselves. Do I have what it takes?
What is required of me? How can I ensure success?
Do I need to adopt some kind of a method?
Do I need to make this message more palatable, more acceptable,
more attractive? What is it that I can do to make
sure that I will not fail in this Grand?
Task that the Son of God is commissioning me too.
And whether or not the disciples were thinking such thoughts,
Jesus, the Lord Jesus the Chief Cornerstone Usher's them through
this parable. Of a truth that would bring them
relief. Bringing them a Repose a
comfort. Something that would not just
last for the moment but something that they can hold on
to for the rest of their Ministry on Earth.
Jesus gives this teaching to his disciples, for the sole purpose
of reminding them how success will come.
How the growth of the kingdom of God will occur.
And you. And I here today who are true,
Servants of God will also benefit greatly from what the
Lord here, has to say you and I hear or eager to see fruit,
whether or not you are part of a certain Ministry, whether your
family is your ministry. Whether you're part of some kind
of Evangelistic Endeavor outside of these walls or you serve
Within These Walls, every True Believer has a desire to see
fruit in their labor Every True Believer truly wants to see the
people that they come in contact with that God providentially
leads into their lives, to be changed to be transformed.
They want to see Souls rescued and they also simultaneously
want to see the saved mature in Christ likeness And what we see
here is that Jesus provides the formula.
He gives them insight and the goal of this.
The emphasis of this is that through this Revelation, they
would know an inward rest that they would be able to battle
discouragement that they would be able to overcome doubts, that
they would be able to silence all suspicion and they would be
able to with longevity to continue serving God.
Knowing this truth is ringing in their ears.
And there's many ways of dissecting these verses to help
us understand how it is that God's work multiplies.
How it is that God's word grows and brings about results but I
want to simplify it. I want to make it as simple as
possible and I believe the simplest way of understanding,
what Jesus is trying to communicate here, not just to
his disciples, but to us today, is that there is two sides to
this thing. There is one human
responsibility. And to, there is the realization
of divine sovereignty. That's it.
If you can remember, those two things moving forward, you will
understand how it is that God's work.
Multiplies human responsibility, Divine sovereignty.
And here is what impresses me of this Parable that we just read.
It's only found in mark. This and another Parable and
Mark chapter 13 are exclusive to this gospel writer.
You will not find what we just read in.
John Matthew, you will not find it in Luke and that is by the
design of the author. Because remember the whole
construct of this book, the whole theme of Mark is to
portray the Son of God as the perfect servant of God.
And how fitting is it for the Holy Spirit to include two
additional teachings, two parables in Mark that are short.
Yes, but also dealing with the theme of work in this text.
It is because yes we are also going to see Jesus as the
perfect servant but as our example in service as well.
And so with this book we have something more for us in the
lane of serving our God. So this is not, this is not an
accident here. This is for those who say, I
want to I want to be effective for the Lord.
I truly want to bear for. I don't want to waste my time.
I don't want to waste my energy. This is for you.
And as you look at it with me, your realize that not only are
there two sides, but there is an emphasis, the emphasis here is
not human responsibility, though.
It is included. It's God.
It's God's work. God's hand God's mind, God's
wisdom, God's timing. And so let's do this together.
We will look at first the human responsibility and he said in
verse 26. The kingdom of God is, as if a
man should scatter seed on the ground, you were there.
When we learn about the parable is Surah where you not remember
what Jesus said to his disciples when they proved that, they
could not understand what that Parable was all about.
He said earlier in the same chapter and verse 13 and he said
to them, do you not understand this Parable?
How then will you understand all the parables?
In other words, the parable of the sower, which deals with the
responsibility, of how we hear the word of God holds key
interpretational ideas for The Parables, that Jesus would teach
from then on. And so, we have to understand
with the parable, the shore, and our, and the backdrop that What
we learned from then applies to this so that helps us
understanding crack a little bit of this quote code.
Number one, we know that the man here speaks of the one who has
the truth and plants it who has the truth and gives it and
offers it and proclaims it. We understand that the seed is
the word of God Incorruptible pure.
And we understand also that the ground here speaks of the hearts
of men. And so here we have a sower
going out, planting the gospel planting God's word in the
hearts of people. And what we see here though is
that Jesus brings us to our memory again to emphasize a very
important point. That growth in the kingdom of
God, fruit. And the people that we are
ministering to our Ministries being blessed by the Holy Spirit
and people being blessed by. It is completely Inseparable
from the implementation and the application and the faithfulness
to the word of God, growth ain't happening without God's word.
That's why he's here in the Forefront of this, Parable.
You and I have to understand that Jesus is bringing this to
our minds because for the Servants of God, there will be a
constant temptation. To rely on.
Secondary matters as the substance of her gospel
persuasion. and so people think this from time to time and this
obstructs that well you know, if I if I just dress a certain way
if I speak a certain way, if I'm more eloquent, if I'm more
intelligent, if I have more of a philosophical flare, if if I'm
more funny, if I'm more laid-back, if I have more of a
pedigree, if I am more educated with current events and
politics. If I smile more, if I smile
less, if my hair is this with my hair?
Is that way, if more approachable, and whatever the
case may be. Now let's magnetize a
corporately. if our service is geared, towards more
contemporary if our services more traditional, if we start at
10 a.m. if we start at 1 p.m., if we have more natural light,
if we have more dim and cozy lights, If we have more
activities, if the preacher dresses, this way, he dresses,
that way, if the worship. He looks like that.
The worship looks like this. If we do all these things then,
surely the gospel will be more acceptable.
And there will be more growth. Was verse 26 is all about is,
all you need is God's word. That's what Jesus is saying.
All you need is God's word. Preyed upon Faithfully.
Handled boldly, declared dealt with, with patience, and
compassion, and love. All you need is to scatter the
seed and that is the basis for the Harvest to come. you can't
have a harvest without this word and the Bible, testifies of
itself concerning the great power and might that it has and
what it can produce in the recipients heart, the recipients
heart, there was a time when there was a pastor Or Prophet
who is ministering in a time when there are other so-called
prophets who claim to speak on behalf of the Lord.
And the Lord gives commentary on how these false Messengers
operated and what they depended on and comparison to those who
are faithful messengers of his, I want to show you that in
Jeremiah 23 as go to the Old Testament briefly Jeremiah 23.
And meet me here in verse 28. The Lord speaks to the prophet
and says, let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream.
But let him. Who has my word, speak my word
Faithfully. What a straw in common with
wheat, declares the Lord. So, what you had in this time
were false prophets who were claimed to speak on behalf of
God, but the substance of their message was subjective
experience. they would claim to have visions or dreams in the
night and then they would come to an audience and they would
try to convey some kind of Message from God that was for
them. That was obviously false and
something that they came up with.
It was something that they conjured up from their own
imagination and for the naive and The Superficial, it worked.
It was attractive, there was something mysterious about it
and they seem to be God's men because look, God speaking to
them and through them to us or surely they are someone special
And we see here that there is this great hype around,
phenomena Paranormal Activity, Supernatural things occurring.
And this is what was drawing a crowd.
This is what was swaying. The people away from the true
and living God. And then he makes a distinction,
the Lord says, but my messengers, my ministers, my
servants, they rely completely on my word on my word, they see
that the word is sufficient. You see the struggle today?
Among Believers is not so much, whether the word is infallible.
I believe today, the greatest struggle among Believers is
whether or not the word of God is sufficient.
Is it enough? Is it enough to save my children
and to preserve them throughout this wicked generation?
Is it enough to draw in a twisted and corrupt culture to
saving faith? Is it enough to see this local
church grow with true disciples or does it need some help?
Should we not add some hint of subjective experience or some
kind of a spectacle or some kind of cultural credibility?
Jeremiah says, My word is enough and those who are Faithfully,
proclaiming my word are those who are mine, and then he makes
this metaphorical picture. What a straw in common with
wheat, declares the Lord straw is the, the waste that comes
from wheat. It's the shouts of the stuff
that you disregard holds no value.
It's to be trampled upon it. In fact, it's supposed to be
burned, there's no nutritional substance.
There's nothing that can offer the consumer.
And that is what he Likens to these prophets.
Who rely on dreams? It doesn't do anything for
anybody. It isn't produced life, there
isn't nourishment, there aren't ingredients in that that can
actually bring about change. But uh, my word my word is like
wheat. There is something in my word
that actually can contribute life-giving power to those who
are willing to eat it, and take it and receive it.
My word has value. My word has sustenance, my word
can supply, my word can change, my word can make you grow my
word, my word alone. And so you see that those who
are lying anything, but the word are really relying on nothing.
And God adds to this, he expands on the thought of his word and
verse 29 is not my word like a fire declares the Lord and like
a hammer that breaks the Rock in pieces.
What does fire do? Fire cleanses it consumes it
overwhelms. It brings warmth it illuminates.
Fires of force with many many outcomes.
It's hard to ignore. It's hard to come in contact
with fire without something happening to that very object.
My word is like fire. Not your dreams.
Not your Miracles Miracles. Can't do this.
Motivational speeches from secular entrepreneurs.
Can't do this. Pop's, I kept psychology, can't
do this. My word is like a fire.
Then he goes on to say, it's like a hammer, like a hammer,
what does the hammer do? What we read it breaks it breaks
resistance. It crushes that, which is
undesirable. Undesirable in US, my word,
breaks down, Pride it shatters Envy.
It brings to nothing to find powder, lust and covetousness
and jealousy. And impatience and murmuring and
complaining my word destroys. That it eradicates it.
Oh, but a hammer does more than destroy if you have it in the
right hand, it can also build It can construct and he wrecked, it
can create and surely the word of God does that.
After it does destroy wants to build something in you, and it
wants to build in you that which nothing else can offer, you
Holiness, loveliness godliness, and all those wonderful fruit of
the holy spirit that we know of in Galatians builds.
Again, let me say nothing else can do.
What the word of God Alone can do.
And, and here's why this is important.
God gives this truth in the book of Jeremiah.
Why? Because it has reached its peak,
the nation has reached its peak of apostasy, you had the nation
of Israel. Turning their back on God,
bowing down before idols. And it's now reached a boiling
point where God says enough is enough.
I'm sending the Babylonians to take you out and it is at that
time, that the spiritual climate was so bad.
That this truth comes to us. Why to reassure and re-establish
the prophet. And those who are faithful to
God in their faith in the word of God.
This is the only thing that's going to work.
This is the only thing that's going to win.
This is the only thing that will preserve and produce.
It's my word and what you have and I have to understand in
Mark, chapter 4 verse 26. Remember, I'm speaking to those
who want to see God's kingdom grow.
That's your desire. Believe the word of God.
Believe that it is enough. Believe that we don't need any
other gimmicks. We don't need any other tricks.
That if this is given to a people that in due time,
something will happen. This is the human
responsibility. This is the human
responsibility. Well, is that it?
Well, it's not it because we continue here and quickly go
from Human agency. To something else that now comes
into operation and it's found in verse 27, he sleeps and Rises
night and day and the seed sprouts and grows.
He knows not how you won't find that in any other gospel account
only here in mark and it is one of the most refreshing Parables
when it comes to serving the lord.
Jesus Christ. Here's what happens.
The man plants the seed. He goes home and he sleeps and
this is just a summarizing way of saying he just went about his
daily routine. He went to bed.
He woke up, he had breakfast. He worked.
He picked up the kids from school.
He came back, spend time with his family, went back to bed,
repeat and day after day night. After night, he was doing this.
And while this was going on, there was a seed that was buried
some time ago and it is germinating.
And it is sprouting. And it is growing. and the key
phrase in this versus as we are now, exploring the Divine
sovereignty aspect of God's work being multiplied and growing He
knows not how. He doesn't know.
Even with our Advanced science today, scientists can't fully
comprehend. The complexity is when this
little seed that goes into the Earth and the right soil can
germinate, and become this giant oak tree, that it just hard to
comprehend fully. And we see here that there is an
appeal to mystery, he knows not how is intended to tell us that
he has. Absolutely, not just no
knowledge of how it occurs but no contribution to it.
He's going about his own Affairs, he's doing what he's
doing and the seed is doing what it's supposed to be doing, and
this is exactly what the Lord is trying to communicate.
The growth that you want to see in your ministry for the kingdom
of God. All over the Earth is dependent
upon a source outside of yourself.
Upon a work and upon a hand that is invisible to your site.
It is something that you must learn to rest in.
And what we see from this is that the pressure of producing
results is now. Off of us, the human
responsibility has been taken care of.
Now, in verse 26, parents hear this, Let the burden.
Roll off your back. Pastors here this and let there
be relief as week after week, you're going out and planting
the word of God. The faithful evangelist that
can't go anywhere without telling somebody about Jesus by
seeing little fruit in it. Realize, realize that once you
drop that thing, all responsibility now is off of
you. This is what the Lord is saying,
he knows not how he doesn't comprehend.
And he doesn't have anything to do with it.
Well, if that's true then who is in charge of the growth.
Look at verse 28, the Earth produces by itself, The phrase
there by itself in the Greek, I may say it wrong.
So, forgive me. Forgive me, YouTube.
Automate has sound familiar. Automate has where we get the
word in English automatic? The Earth produces by itself.
And there is only one place in the entire New Testament where
this Greek word is used, can I show it to you?
Go to Acts chapter 12 quickly, This is the account when Peter
was in prison. The church is praying praying
desperately. Something Supernatural happens.
An angel from the Lord comes wakes.
Peter up tells him to get up and as they make their way towards
the exit, something occurs here. In verse 10 of chapter 12, when
they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to
the Iron Gate leading into the city.
It opened for them of its own accord, that phrase of its own
accord automaton has And they went out and went along one
street and immediately, the angel left them to places in the
entire New Testament, where this Greek word is use.
And so in the same way that this giant iron gate moved on its own
accord implying, what there is no help.
There was no assistance. There is no outside
intervention. It just did its thing in the
pendant lie. Yes supernaturally but
independently in the same way that's how this seed works.
This seed is unassisted the seed is independent.
The seed is moving and pushing and bring forth life without
anything else. Helping it it's automatic.
You don't read of this farmer with a magnifying glass hanging
over that bed of dirt yelling at it to grow.
He doesn't stick his hand in there and Meadow with the
Affairs, he's totally unaware. He's going about his business.
While this seed it's doing is business.
It's moving. Cracking life is coming.
Drawing, nutrients. Pushing through Little Rock's
and little Pebbles, it's coming to life.
So does the word of God? So does the word of God?
Here's what I'm trying to restore.
Our faith in the Supernatural power of This Book of the truths
laced in this book, that when this seed Meats, good soil, when
it is welcomed by an open heart, like we heard in the parable is
sore. This word is so powerful in that
life that you can step away from it and trust that something will
happen to that soul. And again, I don't know what
that does to you, but it helps me a lot.
First it reminds me that I must concentrate and focus simply on
being faithful. And what I do with this word
that when I sit across that coffee table, with a friend who
is not saved and everything in me is trying to tell me to
persuade him to Christ with different ways or means.
It's just realize that if I give him the seed, yes and wisdom.
Yes. In the right timing but the seed
nonetheless, that that thing can do wonders, it can do wonders.
I don't need to be clever. I don't need to manipulate.
I don't need to appeal to the emotions, just scatter the seed.
You know what? I love about this, this man does
not lay anxiously at night. He does not Wonder, did I did I
use the right scattering technique, could I have been
more precise Kevin more articulate, nothing of the sort.
This neighbor doesn't ring his hands and then that midnight
hour ago, over to the fence and Peak over and see what's going
on in his neighbor's crop and compares.
Nothing of the sort. He goes to sleep.
He wakes up. He works goes about his Affairs
and he sleeps again. Here's what I take from this.
Here's what I take and here's what you take for.
The soul who Frets for the soul who wonders because from time to
time I know it. You can peek over into the
little corner that God has designed for you in his Grand,
Vineyard the one that he's called you to minister in the
family that he has given to the children.
The spouse. The homeless shelter, wherever
you may be wherever God has placed you and think to
yourself. Am I doing this right?
Am I doing enough? Do I need a switch up my
technique here? What, why aren't things
happening? And here's what you take from
this. Did you pray for Lee and
Faithfully? Plant the seed?
Yes, go to sleep. Go to sleep and go about your
Affairs and trust that the human responsibility has been
performed. And now Divine sovereignty is at
work but I want to know how You will never know how never.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.
Proverbs tells us there is a measure of Glory in which God
conceals things that offends the intellectual.
But it is to the glory of God that he does not expose all his
methods. All his ways.
There are some measure of mystery that brings pleasure to
God and keeps God in that category of God and us as
creature. so, as that seed goes in, Go to bed.
Go to bed with a smile on your face knowing that you've done
your part. Yeah.
You might have dirt underneath your fingernails, but there is a
bigger and more mightier hand now, taking over, is it?
That simple as that? He's I just yes, that's why it's
here. Yes, But there's more to say
there's more to add to this idea of the sovereignty of God as
much as it's so simple and straightforward.
There's there's deeper realizations of the sovereignty
of God in the work of Salvation. And sanctification that we must
understand. Let me give you two sub points
to this category of divine sovereignty.
Number one, God's work as you just heard, but I'm an expound
on. It is mysteriously silent to us.
It's mysteriously silent to us. If you have the new testament
which I hope you do one of the most exciting studies and maybe
this is just for me now because I'm reading through one of the
most exciting studies that you can go on.
Is the life of Solomon with that new testament dictionary by your
side, and to see how it relates to our current Covenant.
One of the things that have moved my heart and reading those
early chapters of First Kings of not just the mind of Solomon,
but the projects of Solomon, Is how the Bible describes the
construction process of the temple of God.
And how it relates to you and I being the Temple of the Holy
Spirit today. Can I show it to you first Kings
chapter 6? Look at this one verse with its
glorious description of how this building project came about. 1st
Kings. Chapter 6.
Look at this verse and pay attention to it, when the house
was built. It was with stone prepared at
the query. So that neither Hammer nor acts
nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being
built. What an interesting thing for
God to put in his word. So here's how it went in
Practical terms. The team that Solomon gathered
to build this project, we took many many years to accomplish
apart from the site of, where this Temple would be established
from a distance. He had his men work on the
elements, so that there would be no sound heard among the common
people in Jerusalem. And so, all the polishing, all
the cutting, all the hammering, all the chiseling was done far
away where those sounds were not heard. they were not heard and
at the right time, they would bring the right portions and
with reverential rhythm and with great Elegance, one piece would
be placed on another one element was placed on another in.
It was fashioned over those months and over those years. and
if you had been living in Jerusalem at that time, and if
you were a distracted person, You would not have realized what
was going on most of the time, because there was silence.
There was silence saying, brother.
Whoa, why are you bringing this up?
Solomon was behind this. You and I worship the one who
is, greater than Solomon. Whether you know it or not, he
is and has been for the past 2000 years, building a temple.
And, you know what's been happening.
These past two thousand years. God's been at work.
And oftentimes, it's silent. It's not immediately perceived.
It's not easily, calculated. See what we have among the
people of God. Is this strange idea that?
If the Lord is working, it has to be loud.
There has to be a thunderous conviction.
There must be a River of Tears. There must be an explosion of
Miracles. Not so not so.
What we see here is that as this Temple was being built, no sound
was being heard. God works quietly a lot.
And just like that seed was in the ground Beyond perception
beyond the naked eye. So we see here that to the ear.
It was not necessarily registered of what was taking
place, all that you would have seen was from time to time.
There was more wall. More ground taken over.
More things being fashioned, more elements around the worship
of Israel that time being placed.
You would see it periodically. You have no idea what's
happening in the people sitting beside you.
You don't know what's happening in the people that you pass by
in the people that you invest in or the people you have invested
in at some point in your life. You have no clue.
It's not always loud. Oftentimes, it is being done in
secret and that blesses me. That blesses me because God's
work, doesn't equate noise? And immediate progress, It's
incremental, it's slow. It's not always strong it in
your face. It's not always calculable and
measurable. Now, take that truth for your
own life believer. Never mind, the person that
you're investing, take it in your life and for your life.
You have other believers who are agitated about their own growth,
they're not seeing, they're not perceiving, they're not being
able to measure, but what if God and surely, he is working
quietly in you. What if he has slowly and
steadily building you? What if only in increments of
perhaps, long periods of time? Will you look back and say there
is something different about me? There is there's more Devotion
to me, more Lovin, me more sacrifice more consistency in
me. Do not depend upon day-to-day
evaluation of where you're at. It's not the most encouraging
thing to do, but trust that if your heart is good, soil, that
seed is doing something in you. It is.
Well, I can't hear it, I can't. That's okay.
God designed it, that way, God designed it that way, which
brings me to the second. Sub-point that God's work is not
only mysteriously silent to us, but God's work is always It's
always a process, go back to Mark, 4 verse 29.
First 28, rather the Earth produces by itself.
First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear
spiritual success. Must not be gauged by sudden
Lee's. by sudden Lee's Sometimes if we're not careful, even when
we come to the word of God, we can measure the effectiveness of
our efforts with this stunning examples that God has given us
to his word and in his word. So we look at the moves of God
that swept over cities and regions like Nineveh, where
Jonah and a few words saw a Revival break out or we can look
at instantaneous, conversions, like the great Apostle, Paul and
we have every right to be inspired about what God can do
in a moment, how he can. change things miraculously in the split
second, but if we're not careful, We can Wonder.
Well why, why are we not seeing the same?
Am I not doing enough? Am I not praying enough?
Am I not fasting enough? Am I not living holy enough?
And yet Christ gives us the Son of God gives us a rule for
service unto him. Slow and steady.
In stages and God has no problem
working in stages. If you want to clue, go to
Genesis 1:1 of the things, you have to learn right from the
beginning of God. Creating the world is, he's a
God, that works in stages. And guess what, every step of
the way he goes, it is good. It is good.
It is good for us. Even the most fatal car.
That's not good. I'm still rough around the
edges. That person it's been a long
time. They've been enough Bible
studies and what I see is not good, not good enough at least
That's not how God things. It is good and we see here.
That these stages encourage us to be patient to be patient.
If God is a god of process that we must be his servants.
Who are patient? you know people sometimes ask me
what's preaching like what's preaching like what is it about
preaching and they asked these different questions.
And one of those questions has to deal with the delivery.
Do you always feel empowered by God, you always sends his grace
and his assistants while you're declaring his word and I give
different answers and stuff. But can I tell you over the
years when it comes to the ministry of preaching and this
isn't just limited to preaching at witnessing whatever the case
may be, any kind of conveying of the word of God.
The greatest struggle is not inquiring of God for greater
measures of power and wondering if it was powerful enough or
not, I'm just being honest. The greatest struggle is what
Paul told Timothy. In second, Timothy 4, I want to
show it to you as we close in a moment.
Look at verse 2 of second. Timothy 4.
If you want to know, all the letters that begin with t are
gathered together in the New Testament.
So if Thessalonians and Timothy Then tied us second Timothy 4:2,
you know, this preach, the word preach, the word be ready in
season and out of season, reprove, rebuke and exhort with
complete patients and teaching. So, preach the word rebuke,
that's uncomfortable. Sometimes that's uncomfortable
to look at a sea of people and their faces and say you need to
repent. Teach every week trying to find
gold every week, trying to prepare a meal for people to
eat. Reprove in season out us whether
you feel like it or not you witness you share you declare
but those are not the difficult Parts.
You know, what's a difficult part with complete patients?
That's the hard part. With complete patience.
Implying what you're not going to see what you want to see
right away. You're not going to see all that
you aspire to see all that you dream to see in your children.
I know we all want Apostles by the age of 10.
We want a thriving Ministry where everybody is discipling
somebody and everybody signing up to be a foreign missionary
and everybody is sacrificially serving their Community all we
want it. Paul says, be patient Timothy.
I've been in this preaching thing for quite some time and
you're not going to see everything.
You want to see right away. Trust the process.
Trust the process with your family.
Trust the process with your spouse.
Trust the process with your friends.
Trust the process with your congregation, trust the process.
Don't deviate from the word. Don't deviate from the truth,
don't deviate from the principles of God's word.
You have nothing else to bank on God's word in God's word alone.
And we come to the last verse of, Jesus words in this,
Parable. But when the grain is ripe, I
once he puts it in the sickle, because the Harvest has has come
In other words, the same man who sowed the seed.
And you stepped away, and the increase came from God and he
knows not how and he can't take credit and he can't comprehend
it. That same man in Full Circle
will come back and enjoy the Harvest.
And he will benefit in some way of what he has done of what God
has done. And brothers and sisters to some
degree you and I can relate to this verse.
You're sitting in that reality right now.
You enjoyed hearing these peoples voices, the voice of the
redeemed, The Fellowship of the saved, the comfort of the
saints, that is the Harvest, and it's a growing Harvest.
And you, and I, if we have any contribution in this process, is
that at some point, a seed was placed at some point, the light
of our witness touch somebody else.
And as God is bringing the increase, we get to benefit from
it. Although God is doing the most
work, if not all work, we know that.
And here we are enjoying one another's presence and God is
adding to this number and adding to the church globally until the
final Harvest is come and that Sickle comes over the whole
globe and gathers us into the barn house of Glory.
And we enjoy what God has done for all of eternity.
As we are by each other's side forever and ever and ever.
Here's what I want to drive into your heart as we close.
In this day of age, with your family, with this ministry, with
your co-workers, with those who watch your social media,
whatever the case may be, all you need is the word.
And as you do that, rest smile a little bit, would you?
Don't beat yourself up all the time.
Don't believe everything. You see believe that if this
word was given and that Heart Is Right?
A harvest is coming a harvest is coming.
And when it comes, God will receive glory.
And in the meantime worship, while you wait, love while you
wait open, your arms while you wait.
And trust that the right time, you will see it.
And when you see it, You'll give God praise for it.
Let's worship and pray. Lord, we come to you.
We thank you for this Parable with such Simplicity.
We are reminded we are reminded that we can have relief and we
can lean on the sovereignty of God in all our efforts.
And what we think about this ministry, Maranatha Bible
Church, And we pray that by your great Mercy that you would keep
us faithful to the seed. And that there would never be a
time where we would rely on dreams.
That we were to rely on an outside force, or power or
persuasion or captivating tactic.
Lord, Keep Us close to the word. Lord, for the parents who over
the years or who are currently investing in their children with
the word. And will perhaps lose sleep at
night, especially as their children, come to an age where
they have more Independence. I pray for rest.
I pray for trust. I pray that there would never be
a thought from the enemy to say you did not do enough.
And you have failed your family. Lord, we just ask.
That not only would we be patient with the process of
those who are outside of us. That we would also realize that
you were silently working within us.
And though, we don't see this spontaneous works of growth
these spurts. When we day-by-day feed, our
souls with the truth, help us realize that it is never in
vain. And change is coming.
You will renew us and you will change us.
Thank you. That this word has automatic
power. That when it is delivered and
planted. The DNA promises production.
Well, we worship you as we have reinstalled our faith and trust
in the sufficiency of the word of God be magnified as we
worship you. Now not just for what you've
done in us, what you're going to do, what?
All those years of faithful teaching and preaching, and
studying, and discipling, and counseling will do because you
promised, something will come in, Jesus name.
We pray. Amen, let's stand and Worship
the Lord.